Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 222 - 145 Practice Stick_2

Chapter 222: Chapter 145 Practice Stick_2

Lin Wu asked, "Can your clothes handle it?"

Nightmare paused, having forgotten about the clothes.

Lin Wu said, "Shadow Base has a military coat, Cold Resistance Value 80, that comes with a Heavy BUFF." Before putting it on, you wouldn’t know about it, but after, you’d realise the impact is far from small. It’s very suitable for people like Stone and Su Shi who prefer to stay indoors. Its biggest advantage is that the military coat isn’t exclusive; anyone can wear it.

Lin Wu even thought of a way to exploit a bug. Two people could go out, one wearing the coat for two minutes. After two minutes, before the other starts to get frostbite, they’d put on the military coat. They could take turns like this, ensuring not only their combat effectiveness but also warmth.

"Thank you," Nightmare said and left.

Once Nightmare had left, Lin Wu murmured, "Go check the medical supplies in the warehouse."

Shana retorted, "So stingy."

"Go."

Shana pouted and left, soon returning to report, "She didn’t take anything from the warehouse."

Lin Wu continued with suspicion, "It seems all the good stuff is in her own backpack."

Shana said, "I didn’t mention it earlier when there were more people around, but I don’t know Nightmare. However, I do know Dreamcatcher."

Lin Wu was somewhat surprised, "How do you know them?"

Shana replied, "I’m an auditor. I came across some material and discovered someone cooking the books. After reporting this to the leadership, I interrogated Dreamcatcher without seeing his face, demanding that he explain all the issues I had found. This material covered the Dreamcatcher Squad’s first-quarter expenses."

Shana continued, "For auditing purposes, I obtained some background information on Dreamcatcher. From what I know, Dreamcatcher isn’t the indiscriminate killer that Nightmare claims he is. My guess is that Nightmare’s dislike for Dreamcatcher stems from the fact that the Dreamcatcher Squad is a monitoring team responsible for overseeing the actions, everyday behavior, and operations of other Fortress agents."

Fortress agents are the field operatives of the security department of Fortress Company, similar to a national intelligence agency. Within this organization, some individuals engage in criminal activities, such as corporate espionage and privacy extortion. Kidnapping and murder are rare because, with Dawn’s assistance, the police possess a strong ability to solve cases.

The most common mission for the Black Squad is to obtain privacies of certain individuals, compelling them to do things for the squad. Of course, these individuals are not ordinary citizens. Additionally, they also resort to tactics like honey traps to place Black Squad members close to those in power. After all, Dawn is only assisting in the management of Blue Star and upholding the basic order. Humans are the ones truly managing Blue Star.

The Dreamcatcher Squad is responsible for monitoring the Black Squad members within the intelligence department. If they find anyone breaching discipline, they initiate punishment. Punishment stems from a test of loyalty; anyone who wants to join the Black Squad must commit a bad deed, with Fortress Company holding the evidence. Upon the discovery of a traitor, Fortress Company simply hands the evidence over to the police, who then deal with the betrayer with the help of Dawn.

Shana concluded, "It’s not to say that all Fortress agents have grievances with Dreamcatcher, but no one likes them."

Lin Wu asked, "What kind of person is he?"

Shana thought for a moment, "Arrogant and unruly, yet possessing a gentlemanly demeanor with a foul mouth. Extremely intelligent."

Lin Wu noted, "That’s a collection of contradictions."

Shana explained, "Proud and vulgar. Behind his pride is calmness, and behind his vulgarity is cunning. But Dreamcatcher is highly trusted by the Fortress top brass."

Lin Wu nodded and asked, "I have a question, do you know about The Ring of the Fortress?"

Shana replied, "Yes, the holder of The Ring of the Fortress will control all assets of Earth Fortress Company."

Lin Wu asked, "Do you know that several families from Fortress Company are also on the migration list, and it’s said that three members of these families will take over Earth Fortress Company?"

After thinking for a while, Shana said, "How long would it take you to go from Zone 1 to Zone 12 by plane?"

Lin Wu replied, "Around 15 hours."

Shana asked further, "What about by train?"

Lin Wu said, "That would take about one to two weeks."

Shana continued probing, "What if by cruise ship?"

Lin Wu said, "That’ll take at least three months."

Shana said, "The immigrant spaceship we’re currently on is a cruise ship, and Fortress Company has planes. For most people, even if a flight route were to be opened, no one would want to waste another two years returning to Blue Star. However, Fortress Company has shuttles, and if these noble family members are important enough and powerful enough, not having been given important roles on Earth, their families might very well spend a fortune to send shuttles to bring them back to Blue Star. Dawn has no rule against immigrants returning to Blue Star. In terms of a shuttle’s speed, it would only take a week to travel from Blue Star to Earth."

Lin Wu exclaimed, "Shameless."

Shana said, "For the vast majority, this is a migration for life, but for the scions of wealthy families, it’s perhaps just a trial. As for Fortress agents, they do not participate in the competition for The Ring of the Fortress, they compete for the interests of Fortress Company. The higher their scores, the greater the benefits for Fortress Company, which will reward them according to their points. It’s said that around 20% of the shares will be given to ten Fortress agents, distributed according to their points. I’m not very clear on upper management operations."

Lin Wu asked, "Is Stone from Fortress Company?"

Shana shook her head: "I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ve never heard of someone called Stone."

Lin Wu asked, "What about Maya?"

Shana shook her head again: "Haven’t heard of her either."

Lin Wu asked, "What about Lin Wu?"

Shana laughed, ignoring the boastful man, and asked, "Any tasks to take care of?"

Lin Wu said, "Bounty missions, the cement factory, dealing with screaming spikes, gathering supplies. Nightmare just picked up a book on Fishing, and our food can last for about another ten days. Besides, the hotpot is pretty good. The main base ate through all their stock today, so we need to find some more. I’m thinking that we only have about ten doses of Serum and serum injections left, so we need to carve out some time to hit up the cement factory and make a trip to Invincible Base. I also want to find an isolated Black Bear."

Shana frowned: "There’s that much to do?" On the main base’s day shift, find a location, simply stroll there, and take any resources you see.

Lin Wu said, "We’ll hunt for a Frenzy nearby tomorrow morning, you take care of the mission. I’ll head to North Lake to complete mine."

Shana said, "I’m coming too, I want to get revenge on Six Wings."

Lin Wu said, "But you don’t even have a stick."

Shana looked at Lin Wu: "Should we go to the main base now to get a stick?"

Lin Wu said, "I can’t leave at night, you could go whittle down a tree branch, that might work."

"Isn’t that a bit too make-do?" Shana was skeptical of the suggestion coming from Lin Wu’s mouth.

Lin Wu said helplessly, "We’ll make a run to the main base first thing tomorrow morning."

Shana shook her head: "I don’t want to be a burden. I can do without a stick for now."

Lin Wu: "Alright." No, that wasn’t right; this conversation started with him trying to stop Shana from accompanying him to North Lake because that place was quite dangerous. The discussion turned to sticks, and in the end, he agreed that Shana could come with him to North Lake, even without a stick.

Shana flashed a sweet smile, seemingly unintentional, yet as if a scheme had succeeded.

...

The next morning, Nightmare didn’t return. Lin Wu and Shana found an unlucky Frenzy in the vicinity. They tricked the Frenzy near the base’s safe area, and after a round of cutting down by the SC, it died a glorious death. Lin Wu played the role of Maya and began to adjust Shana’s shooting posture.

As the two were preparing to set off for North Lake, Maya arrived at the base alone, bringing Shana two sticks—one a long wooden stick and the other a telescopic baton. Maya’s main reason for coming was to teach Shana the technique of ’poking’.

Originally, Shana thought it would be simple, but after facing zombies twice, she found it difficult to stab a moving zombie in the head, and both her striking and retracting movements were not smooth enough.

Maya explained the simplest practice technique: the elements of a target and the stick’s tip. The person and the stick should always face the target while the person swings and moves side to side; the stick’s tip should remain stationary, which trains the sense of position for the stick’s tip. Since it was time for intensive training, Lin Wu left them behind and headed to North Lake alone.

Without a car, the road to North Lake was tough, and the drone kept an eye out for Black Bears. There were no Black Bears along the way, but he did encounter a cheetah. Unlike Black Bears, the cheetah confronted Lin Wu for a while before choosing to retreat, which could be what Dawn referred to as the unpredictability of animal behavior.

This made Lin Wu slander the Black Bear. "See, others know better, can’t you learn from them?" he thought.

On second thought, in terms of overall combat strength, the cheetah was truly no match for a Black Bear.